UPDATE: The jury in the trial retired to consider its verdict after 3.30pm today.
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EARLIER: THE defence counsel in a lawyer's theft trial has accused the key Crown witness of lying.
Adrian John Hall, 39, a criminal law practitioner, pleaded not guilty in the Launceston Supreme Court last week to eight counts of stealing from his ex-employer.
One count, in relation to a $2000 cheque that was allegedly made out to Mr Hall, was withdrawn yesterday and the jury will consider seven allegations of theft.
This reduced the total amount allegedly stolen by Mr Hall to about $15,780, which the Crown argues that he stole from Launceston barrister and solicitor Grant Tucker between August 2010 and September 2012.
The state has accused Mr Hall of having pocketed cash payments from clients in amounts ranging from about $320 to $9000.
The defence has denied that Mr Hall acted dishonestly.
Mr Hall did not give or adduce evidence.
During his closing address today, which lasted more than two hours, defence counsel Geoffrey Steward said it had been "inflammatory and unfairly simplistic" for the Crown to label his client "a liar and a thief".
Mr Steward said that Mr Hall had no prior convictions, save for driving matters.
He said that Mr Hall had in fact provided a receipt to Lisa Fulton, in relation to an alleged cash payment of $9000 which she gave him, in the form of a signed "with compliments" slip.
"It may not have gone into the trust account," Mr Steward said.
"But it's a receipt... that does not make you guilty of stealing."
He also branded the main Crown witness, Mr Tucker, as a liar who "commenced and perpetuated" the "cash culture" within his office.
Mr Steward said the Crown case was "a giggle and does not stand up to scrutiny".
However, he admitted that Mr Hall might have been "cocky... even a smart alec sometimes" in his video-recorded interview with police.
"Yes, he was not completely truthful," Mr Steward said.
"Yes, he told some untruths in that record of interview."
Justice Stephen Estcourt will sum up the case to the jury this afternoon.